Wet and Wild

Looky here! I've been working on a lesson plan to show students how dangerous drinking open-well water can be, and I was able to borrow a Dino Lite digital microscope, and this is what I was able to find in the open-well in my compound! I really had no idea what it was, but according to one of the Peace Corps doctors it is probably aedes aegypti mosquito larvae; which grows up to become the mosquito that transmits dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, and others. It's probably not too harmful to drink, but it was enough for some of my students to vow to never drink open-well water without boiling it first. I shall continue to hunt for nastier and more malicious critters lurking beneath the water in my well.

The night sky was incredibly bright and celestial last night. If you live somewhere where you can see the sky or if you're planning on camping or traveling or going for a drive, I highly recommend downloading Stellarium from http://www.stellarium.org . It's planetarium software. You can simply put the time, date, and location in, and then it will show you the sky, stars, star clusters, constellations, constellation art, planets, etc. You can move forward and back in time and the sky will change accordingly, and you can also zoom in on clusters and planets. It's almost like Google Universe. Check it out.

Six to Eight Black Men

I just thought I should share this timely excerpt from an exceedingly hilarious and sidesplitting book I'm reading by David Sedaris (NPR, This American Life) called Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim:

While eight flying reindeer are a hard pill to swallow, our Christmas story remains relatively dull. Santa lives with his wife in a remote polar village and spends one night a year traveling around the world. If you're bad, he leaves you coal. If you're good and live in America, he'll give you just about anything you want. We tell our children to be good and send them off to bed, where they lie awake, anticipating their great bounty. A Dutch parent has a decidedly hairier story to relate, telling his children, "Listen, you might want to pack a few of your things together before going to bed. The former bishop of Turkey will be coming tonight along with six to eight black men. They might put some candy in your shoes, they might stuff you into a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared."

This is the reward for living in the Netherlands. As a child you get to hear this story, and as an adult you get to turn around and repeat it. As an added bonus, the government has thrown in legalized drugs and prostitution - so what's not to love about being Dutch?

Oscar finished his story just as we arrived at the station. He was an amiable guy - very good company - but when he offered to wait until my train arrived I begged off, claiming I had some calls to make. Sitting alone in the vast, vibrant terminal, surrounded by thousands of polite, seemingly interesting Dutch people, I couldn't help but feel second-rate. Yes, the Netherlands was a small country, but it had six to eight black men and a really good bedtime story. Being a fairly competitive person, I felt jealous, then bitter. I was edging toward hostile when I remembered the blind hunter tramping off alone into the Michigan forest...

Happy Holidays! / Plan for Withdrawal

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is underway in The Gambia. I avoided the market at all costs today because everyone is preparing for the Muslim festival called Tobaski (Eid al-Adha in Arabic) on Thursday.

From answers.com:

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥā) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha also begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).

Eid al-Adha is three days long and starts on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. This is the day after the pilgrims in Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.

Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing and perform the Eid prayer (Salatu'l-`id) in any mosque. Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows, and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) sacrifice. The sacrificed animals, called "udhiya Arabic: أضحية", have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. At the time of sacrifice, Allah's name is recited along with the offering statement and a supplication as Muhammad said. According to the Quran a large portion of the meat has to be given towards the poor and hungry people so they can all join in the feast which is held on Eid-ul-Adha.The remainder is cooked for the family celebration meal in which relatives and friends are invited to share. The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid ul-Adha by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished Muslim is left without sacrificial food during these days. Coming immediately after the annual hajj ends with the celebration of the Day of Mount Arafat. Eid ul-Adha is a concrete affirmation of what the Muslim community ethic means in practice. People in these days are expected to visit their relations, starting with their parents, then their families and friends.

Plan for Withdrawal:

Effective on January 1, 2008, I will no longer touch a computer in an attempt to repair it, or any piece of hardware, network cable, switch, firewall, virus, or anything that shares the likeness. I want to turn everything over to my counterparts and see how they handle things. My counterparts are enthusiastic, but the offices and businesses we've been doing work at are about as excited as an arctic seal going up for air at an icehole where a polar bear is waiting to club and mangle it (watched Blue Planet last night). I've been referring government offices/businesses to my counterparts for a while, but they keep insisting that I come personally instead because they say they trust me more. Some of these people calling me are not used to hearing the word "no", but I've been trying my best to explain to them that my goal in being here is to train Gambians to help other Gambians, and my counterparts are in fact properly trained and know what their doing. I've definitely pissed a few people off, but fortunately my counterparts usually solve the problems and the half-life for a grudge here is only a day or two.

I met an interesting photographer the other day that has been traveling around Africa for around 5 years. He said he's finally running out of money and is going back to the states.
Check out his website and publications:
http://www.thomasmillerphotographer.com

I also just heard my good friend Joe Riis has a term photo published in the January '08 issue of National Geographic! Congrats Joe!
http://www.joeriis.com

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Chanukkah, Tobaski, Eid al-Adha!

Here is a gift voucher for everyone:
Gift Voucher